Fairest of them all
by Zarrian
Summary: Mirror, mirror, on the floor, who is fairer even more? Nessaverse.


Nessa looked in the mirror in front of her. Someone else who may have seen this fair object in the mirror would have looked at her high cheek bones- clear complexion, her big brown eyes and her flushed cheeks. Anyone else would have seen beauty. Nessa- however, didn't. She saw a half wasted life, broken dreams, and a monster of her own design.

Elphaba had given her this mirror. It was strange- this was the only present she had ever received from her sister. They were seven- well, Nessa was seven, whist Elphaba had just turned nine. It was the Lurlinemas season.

_'__Nessa- here.' Elphaba shoved a small, badly wrapped present in to the crippled girl's hands. _

_'__What's this?' Nessa said as she observed the small package._

_'Open it, silly.' Nessa did. It was an antique mirror, the frame crafted of the finest silvers. The mirror it's self was cracked, but not so badly that a person could not see themselves crying at the fact that they did not get their sister a present. 'Oh, Elphaba! It's beautiful…I- I don't know what to say…'_

_'Don't say anything. It's stupid, I know…"_

_'No, Fae. It's marvelous!' Elphaba looked at her worn boots. Nessa observed her own prestigious jaw line, beautiful and refined- as her hand flew up to her face. Truly, Nessa was beautiful. Beautifully tragic. 'Thank you, Elphaba.' Nessa said._

_'You're- you're welcome.' Elphaba said, looking at her fingernails as if this was nothing._

_'Oh, Faba! Father didn't get you anything- nor did I! I'm sorry!' Nessa said apologetically._

_'No, he never gets me anything.' Elphaba said._

_Nessa heaved a breath and stuck out her chest proudly. 'He and I shall go tomorrow to get you something. After all, I'm sure it was just a mistake-!'_

_'No. Father does not mistake, Nessa. He does things on purpose to let me know I'm not wanted.' All was silent between the two sisters, until Elphaba said. 'Okay, let's see your beautiful face in the mirror!' Elphaba crouched behind Nessa chair and put her hand over Nessa's. 'Oh, Nessa… look at you…I swear- you are the fairest of them all…"_

_Fairest of them all?_ What was Elphaba thinking? The wicked witch of the East was not fair. She was not beautiful. No- what the wicked witch of the East was- is- is a monster, and waste of time. Now, she was alone. All alone, with nothing to prove that all she wanted was something good. Of course, a crippled girl could only accomplish one thing- that being to avoid rear-end cramps from sitting all day.

And then there was none. Namely, Boq. The man of many mysteries, whom Nessa could not stop lusting after, no matter what flaw she tried to find or what error in his four-foot-eleven body she looked for. And if she could try to look past her desire and longing for him for just one second, maybe her life would be so much less complicated. She could almost feel it now- a total clearing of mind and sprit, almost like meditating. Maybe if Boq weren't there, she'd be able to clear her senses.

The Wicked Witch of the East looked back in the mirror. There she was- the possessive, unbearable, Nessarose Thropp. Nessarose- the alone and loveless, they would call her when the time came for her life to end. Nessarose- just the girl in the mirror. Overbearing, thy name is Nessarose Thropp. Nessa's fingers followed her cheek line…and fell to her jaw. She looked at the fairest of them all, and all she saw was another empty life. Yes, Nessa may have accomplished something- but all that was, was only fear, loathing, and hate.

The mirror shook as Nessa held it… suddenly; the impulse to destroy hit her like nothing she had ever felt. The need to destroy something beautiful as she looked at her face overwhelmed her. She had to destroy the mirror. She threw it across the room and it hit the tall, Quoxwood door, smashing it to pieces.

She wheeled over to the mirror, and stared at her graven image in the glass._Tell me, mirror_, Nessarose thought._ Who's the fairest of them all?_

Of course, the mirror gave no answer, but lay there. Broken in bits. How she desperately wanted the mirror to tell her..._ Nessa, you are the fairest of them all_… but there was someone fairer in the land.

_Mirror, mirror, on the floor- who's fairer even more?_

Humph-

-The fairest of them all.

**A/N: Okay, I was watching 'Snow White'- and it's surprising, but good things happen when I watch that movie. And the whole time, I heard Jenna Leigh Green's voice singing the song 'Portrait of a girl' from Bare, a Pop Opera, and then, I heard her sing, '…Alone and loveless here, just me and the girl in the mirror.' And then I came to me- 'The Wicked Witch of the East-,' and 'The Wicked Stepmother of fairytaledom!' I'm telling you- good things happen to those who watch Snow White! (By the way, I've always hated the character of Snow White. The complex personality of the Stepmother has interested me so much more- Here's a woman who has been told repeatedly that she was the most beautiful woman in all the land for so long, and she has become addicted to it. Then now, when her stepdaughter becomes more beautiful, she has a total mental breakdown. I've considered writing a book about her several times… maybe 2008 will be that year?! Anyway, hoped you liked the fic, and read, write and review!)**

**(For those who have never seen Bare, you simply must. It's truly amazing. And if you're wondering why I brought it up, in the song, 'Portrait of a girl,' she says,**

'**Portrait of a girl- object of woman- a pose and they- they say she's fairest of them all…' **

**So, that's why. D)**


End file.
